REGION: Christmas trees targeted for fish, mulch

Most of the Christmas trees that area residents toss out will be ground into garden mulch, but some will be sunk in lakes Elsinore and Perris to give little fish a boost.

The Riverside County Waste Management Department has arranged to deliver trees dropped off at landfills to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife for creation of fish habitat.

The county has a free holiday-tree drop-off program at its Badlands, Lamb Canyon and Blythe landfills.

To ready the real but decaying trees for reuse as fish habitat, residents are asked to remove all decorations, lights, tinsel and tree stands. Flocked trees aren't accepted; they must be thrown out with regular trash.

The same rules apply for curbside pickup, except that trees more than 4 feet tall should be cut in half. Trees may be placed next to green-waste containers on regular pickup days for up to two weeks after Christmas.

Lily Quiroa, an area spokeswoman for the Waste Management firm that picks up trash in several Riverside County cities, said all the trees it collects will be turned into mulch.

Waste Management Inc. provides curbside service in Murrieta, Menifee and half of Wildomar.

In Murrieta and Menifee, said spokeswoman Eloisa Orozco, "Trees will be collected by flatbed trucks. Customers may see their normal side-load trucks pass without picking up their trees; however, a flatbed truck will be canvassing the area after service trucks to recover trees."

Most trees will be picked up at the curb.

"For most people, it's easier to put it out at the curb than to take it to the landfill," said Kathleen Utter, a recycling specialist with the county Waste Management Department.

Still, several hundred trees are expected to be dropped off at landfills.

Quinn Granfors, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in Winchester, said those will be placed in Lake Elsinore and Lake Perris sometime this month.

Granfors said the underwater trees will help juvenile fish two ways: By providing a place for plant food sources to become established and a structure to shield them from larger, predatory fish.

"It's kind of a way to jumpstart the food web and provide physical places for hiding," he said.

Granfors said he picked up the first batch of trees Wednesday.

"I'll take what I can get," he said.

Granfors said the state agency, which changed its name from Fish and Game to Fish and Wildlife, plans to sink trees in 5 to 10 feet of water in Lake Elsinore and 8 to 20 feet of water in Lake Perris -- well away from swimming areas.

He said the trees will be attached to concrete blocks anchoring them to the bottom.

It's an effort the agency has undertaken locally since 2006. In recent years, the same two lakes have received trees. Others have been placed in Lake Gregory in the San Bernardino Mountains, Granfors said.

Under water, he said, the trees last two to three years.

"But the good thing is, there is an annual supply," he said of the Christmas-tree disposal. "It's a way to recycle and reuse something. The public gets a benefit out of it and the fish get a benefit out of it."

Most people are pretty good about removing holiday decorations before dropping off trees at the curb or at landfills. A few require a little extra work.

"I end up with extra ornaments every year," Granfors said. "I've got a collection in my office."